All Bluelines to go off Delhi roads by Dec 14

NEW DELHI: Finally, the fate of the killer Blueline fleet appears to have been sealed. Delhi transport minister Arvinder Singh on Monday set a deadline of December 14 for phasing out of the 2,400-odd Blueline buses plying on the capital's roads — more than a year ahead of the original deadline of February 2012.

Explaining the decision, Singh said there had been little impact during the Commonwealth Games when Bluelines were off the roads in all parts of the city except in outer Delhi and rural areas. Within days of the buses resuming service, a Blueline killed yet another Delhiite.

'' When I became the transport minister in 2008, there were about 3,000 Blueline buses on the road whereas now our own DTC fleet is 6,500 strong so we can afford to do away with them. Moreover the Metro network has also widened. By November 1, the first of our bus clusters would have come into existence ," Singh said.

The matter of the Bluelines buses is still in court and the Delhi government, which has been under pressure from court to provide a safer means of public transport , had asked for a fourmonth extension.

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Delhi HC stepped in after 7 people were mowed down by a Blueline in Oct 2007 Under pressure, Delhi govt promised that the killer fleet would be off the roads by Feb 2012 1600 Bluelines were not allowed to ply during CWG, 800 allowed in outer Delhi and rural areas On Saturday, another person was killed by a Blueline. Govt finally said enough was enough

Traffic blues to disappear

Cops Happy With Blueline Phaseout

New Delhi: Guess who's celebrating the phaseout of dreaded Bluelines? Yes, the regular biker, cyclist, pedestrian and the motorist on Delhi roads are overjoyed that they won't have to face traffic blues but the happiest are the traffic cops. They use statistics to explain that a monster is finally going off the capital roads. According to the records, there are over 6,500 DTC buses out of which a minimum of 6,000 ply each day.

'' While DTC buses have been involved in 37 fatal accidents this year, Bluelines — only about 1,600 — plying on various routes have killed 66 people so far. Last year, these buses were involved in 97 fatal accidents.

'' The number of accidents caused by DTC buses is much lesser than that caused by Bluelines . No wonder, this decision will help us in bringing down the number of fatalities on Delhi roads,'' said joint commissioner (traffic) Satyendra Garg.

Traffic police officers also point out two major problems that will be solved with the phasing out of the Bluelines. '' One, these Bluelines have no designated parking space. As such, they often park illegally on roads and take up open road space. This is especially true for areas in northeast Delhi like Nand Nagri and southeast Delhi's Badarpur.

"Two, these Bluelines, allow footboard travel which often leads to major accidents. With DTC using its low-floor fleet judiciously, such accidents should also come down,'' said an officer.

The police said that the number of non-fatal accidents dropped from 23 each day to 16 during the Commonwealth Games. Between October 3 and 10 when the CWG took place, 123 non-fatal cases were registered. In 2008, it was 148. '' This proves that when over 200 Blueline routes were curbed during the CWG the number of both fatal and non-fatal accidents had reduced ,'' said the officer.